Social Development Specialist, Ankara----->>

Closing date: Tuesday, 10 March 2015

Background / General description: THE WORLD BANK GROUP

Established in 1944, the WBG is one of the world's largest sources of funding and knowledge for development solutions. In fiscal year 2014, the WBG committed $65.6 billion in loans, grants, equity investments and guarantees to its members and private businesses, of which $22.2 billion was concessional finance to its poorest members. It is governed by 188 member countries and delivers services out of 120 offices with nearly 15,000 staff located globally.

The WBG consists of five specialized institutions: the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the International Development Association (IDA), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), and the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). IBRD and IDA are commonly known as the World Bank, which is organized into six client-facing Regional Vice-Presidencies, several corporate functions, and - as of July 1, 2014 - has introduced fourteen Global Practices (GPs) as well as five Cross-Cutting Solution Areas (CCSAs) to bring best-in-class knowledge and solutions to regional and country clients.

GLOBAL PRACTICES & CROSS-CUTTING SOLUTIONS AREAS

The 14 GPs are: Agriculture; Education; Energy and Extractives; Environment and Natural Resources; Finance and Markets; Governance; Health, Nutrition and Population; Macroeconomics and Fiscal Management; Poverty; Social Protection and Labor; Social, Urban, Rural and Resilience; Trade and Competitiveness; Transport and ICT; and Water. The 5 CCSAs are: Climate Change; Fragility, Conflict and Violence; Gender; Jobs; and Public-Private Partnerships. The new operating model is part of a broader internal reform aimed at delivering the best of the World Bank Group to our clients, so that together we can achieve the twin goals of (1) ending extreme poverty by 2030, and (2) promote shared prosperity for the bottom 40% of the population in every developing country.

THE 'SOCIAL, URBAN, RURAL AND RESILIENCE' (SURR) GLOBAL PRACTICE

Urbanization is occurring at an unprecedented pace. Cities generate 80% of global GDP and are key to job creation and the pursuit of shared prosperity. Yet one billion city residents live in slums today, and by 2030 one billion new migrants will arrive in cities. This concentration of people and assets will exacerbate risk exposure to adverse natural events and climate change, which affects the poor disproportionately. The absence of secure land tenure underpins deprivation and is a major source of conflict in the urban and rural space. One and a half billion people live in countries affected by repeated cycles of violence. In the absence of services, participative planning and responsive institutions, these trends will result in increased poverty, social exclusion, vulnerability and violence. Finally, avoiding a 4-degree warmer world requires drastically reducing the carbon footprint of cities.

The WBG is in a unique position to support national and sub-national clients to: harness urbanization and enable effective land management in support of both growth and poverty reduction; foster social inclusion of marginalized groups; support the responsiveness and fiscal, financial, and management capacities of local governments - cities, municipalities, and rural districts - to deliver local infrastructure and decentralized services; strengthen resilience and risk management related to natural disasters; reduce conflict and violence; scale-up access to finance for sub-national governments; and reduce the carbon footprint of cities. The WBG brings a combination of lending ($7-8 billion in annual lending to cities), analytical and advisory services (e.g., social inclusion flagship, urbanization reviews, Sendai dialogue), its growing portfolio of reimbursable advisory services, its convening power (e.g., understanding risk and the land conferences), its leveraging capacity (e.g., guarantees and risk mitigation), and its ability to work with the private sector to tackle the challenges at scale and to effect.

The SURR GP covers a wide gamut:

developing green, inclusive and resilient cities;
addressing the social inclusion of the poor, vulnerable and excluded groups through accountable institutions, and ensuring compliance with social safeguards;
enhancing urban and rural development through supporting and managing the urban-rural transition, assisting local development through developing land tenure, management and information systems; and
assisting in disaster risk management through issues of risk assessment, risk reduction (including flood management, urban drainage, coastal management, and retrofitting of infrastructure), disaster preparedness (including hydromet services, early warning systems, and civil defense), risk financing (including CAT-DDO), and resilient reconstruction (including post-disaster damage and loss assessment). A key responsibility of the GP is to provide professional expertise and operational support to other GPs to implement the WBG social policies (the WB's safeguard policies and the IFC's Performance Standards) to deliver sustainable development results that ensure that any adverse impacts of WBG interventions are limited and mitigated.

The World Bank Group is committed to achieving diversity in terms of gender, nationality, culture and educational background. Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated in the strictest confidence.

REGIONAL/COUNTRY/GLOBAL UNIT CONTEXT

The Europe and Central Asia region comprises 30 diverse countries, with a population of nearly 500 million people. Four of our clients are IDA only and another 5 are IDA blend countries. The remaining 21 are IBRD eligible. Although 10 of our clients have joined the EU and 7 of these have graduated, most continue to remain active recipients of knowledge and or lending services. Country Partnership Strategies (CPSs) reflect this strong diversity with substantial variation in lending prospects, but strong demand for Bank technical services across the board.

Turkey is one of the largest countries in ECA, with per-capita GDP on the verge of reaching high-income. Solid growth and an appreciating currency has helped more than triple GDP per capita and incomes for the bottom 40 percent since the start of the century, with a large decline in poverty and remarkable improvements in health and education outcomes. Nonetheless, in several dimensions of well-being, Turkey remains solidly a middle income country, facing numerous structural challenges.

Turkey's economic development over the past decade has resulted in impressive economic and social achievements. After a banking crisis in 2001, the country embarked on a concerted path of structural reform supported by strong fiscal consolidation, strengthened banking supervision, a reform of the social security system, and a shift to a flexible exchange rate regime with an independent central bank responsible for inflation targeting. Per-capita income subsequently almost tripled in less than a decade, and Turkey, with a population of almost 75 million, is now an upper middle-income country with the world's 18th largest economy. Social outcomes have also improved considerably as a result of economic growth and improved public service delivery, with improved access to education (and virtually universal enrollment at the primary level) and health services (linked to the Health Transformation Program).

The benefits of economic growth have been widely shared in Turkey: incomes of the bottom 40 percent of the population rose as much as the average over the past decade. While Turkey's rapid economic progress since the early 2000s is relatively well known, its most impressive achievement may well lie in the extent to which this growth has been inclusive. Between 2002 and 2012, and despite increasing expenditure inequality after the 2008 crisis, extreme poverty has fallen from 13 percent to 5 percent while moderate poverty fell from 44 percent to 21 percent (defined using the World Bank Europe and Central Asia regional poverty lines of US$2.5/PPP and US$5/PPP, respectively). Turkey's performance in poverty reduction places the country among the top quartile of global poverty reduction episodes during 2006-2011. The labor market has been the most important factor driving poverty reduction in Turkey in the 2000s, with about two thirds of the decline in poverty due to higher private sector earnings or higher employment rates among poor households.

However, Turkey's achievements have recently been challenged by an uncertain economic and political outlook. Economically, Turkey faces the prospect of lower growth in a context of less abundant international finance, unless it can strengthen competitiveness. Reforms to the business climate, deepening of financial markets and improvements in the rule of law and in corporate governance are key priorities. The labor market will need to continue to create over 1 million jobs annually to absorb a growing labor force and the rising share of women who are entering the labor force, while family policies will need to be adapted to facilitate combining work and family life. Socially, the influx of over 1.6 million refugees from the conflict in Syria is creating strains on host communities and national and municipal budgets. The 'peace process' to bring an end to the conflict in Turkey's Southeast is another major challenge but also significant opportunity. While poverty rates have come down, inequality levels remain relatively high, with pockets of vulnerability in rural areas as well as in the eastern parts of the country.

Against this background, the World Bank Group's Country Partnership Strategy is based around three pillars: improving competitiveness, building inclusion, and ensuring sustainability. Across a substantial program of loans, investments and analytical services, there is a growing focus on strengthening citizen engagement and new initiatives to address emerging social challenges. A key business objective is to develop opportunities for reimbursable advisory services.

Note: If the selected candidate is a current Bank Group staff member with a Regular or Open-Ended appointment, s/he will retain his/her Regular or Open-Ended appointment. All others will be offered a 2 year term appointment.

Duties and Accountabilities: Under the supervision of the Regional Practice Manager for Social Development, the Social Development Specialist will have the following main duties and responsibilities:

Serve as the Country Social Development Specialist for the Turkey Country Program in order to
(i) identify opportunities for increased social sustainability, social inclusion and social accountability in World Bank lending operations, technical assistance and policy dialogue, and

(ii) work with government counterparts, civil society and World Bank teams in the fulfillment of these objectives.
Ensure the integration of key social inclusion, cohesion, and accountability issues in the Turkey Systematic Country Diagnostic and the Country Partnership Framework by proactively identifying entry points for social analysis, and working with government counterparts, civil society and World Bank teams to identify opportunities for programs that will contribute to improved social outcomes in the World Bank's partnership with the Government of Turkey.
Support the Task Team Leader of the 'Regional Development and Vulnerability' analysis, which focuses on Southeastern Turkey, with
(i) the ongoing dialogue with government authorities across relevant Departments and Ministries,

(ii) the organization and quality oversight of several social analysis and diagnostic products; and

(iii) the formulation of policy and program advice with respect to the regional development of Southeastern Turkey.
Ensure the compliance with the World Bank's social safeguards policies on involuntary resettlement and land acquisition, as well as gender mainstreaming and citizen engagement in the World Bank's project engagement in Turkey.

Selection Criteria: Selection criteria:

Advanced Degree (Masters Degree or equivalent) in Sociology, Anthropology, Economics, Political Science or related social sciences and at least 5 years of directly relevant experience.
Solid background in social inclusion and at least 1 of the following social development competencies - social accountability, addressing fragility and conflict, community driven development (incl. community mobilization and empowerment).
Demonstrated skills and direct work experience with at least one or more of the following: public consultations; public hearings; participatory rural and urban appraisal; participatory poverty assessments; participatory monitoring and evaluation; grievance redress mechanisms.
Proven analytical skills; ability to design, implement, and interpret qualitative research (including focus group discussions, interviews, case studies); ability to design, implement and interpret quantitative research. Ability to extract key findings and messages from qualitative and quantitative research and using the evidence to construct a clear narrative on research findings and policy implications.
Experience with translating research findings into policy advice and with carrying such policy dialogue with government agencies.
Familiarity with the short-term humanitarian as well as medium to long term social and economic development issues related to war-induced displacement highly desirable.
Familiarity with mitigating the impacts of development-induced land acquisition, displacement, and resettlement highly desirable.
Commitment and ability to develop institutional capacity in both state and non-state partner agencies with respect to all issues mentioned above. Experience in developing partnerships with government counterparts to identify and implement solutions to difficult development challenges. Proven capacity to work with a wide range of stakeholders, international organizations, academics, development agencies, and NGOs. Strong network of stakeholders and key experts in social development.
Strong oral and written presentation skills, as well as creativity and problem-solving skills.
Outstanding interpersonal and networking skills and demonstrated ability to work in multi-disciplinary teams and multicultural environments.
Enthusiasm for and commitment to poverty alleviation, social development and addressing the needs of the most vulnerable. Highly self-motivated and talented in motivating others.
Outstanding verbal and written communications skills in English.
Competencies:
Social Development Implications on Policy, Institutions, and Operations - Familiarity with the implications of social development on policy, institutions, and operations.
Analytical Tools for Social Sustainability - Solid experience conducting social development analyses, producing meaningful results, and applying the tools in the course of an operation.
Participation and Consultation - Solid experience conducting social development consultative and participatory approaches, and applying the approaches in the course of an operation.
Social Safeguards - Familiar with and can apply (under supervision) the social safeguard policies to a situation and identify issues and risks.
Integrative Skills - Working to develop an integrated view across all facets of current sector.
Knowledge and Experience in Development Arena - Understands policy making process; distills operationally relevant recommendations/lessons for clients.
Policy Dialogue Skills - Identifies and assesses policy issues and plays an active role in the dialogue with the government and/or other stakeholders.
Lead and Innovate - Develops innovative solutions.
Deliver Results for Clients - Proactively addresses clients' stated and unstated needs.
Collaborate Within Teams and Across Boundaries - Collaborates across boundaries, gives own perspective and willingly receives diverse perspectives.
Create, Apply and Share Knowledge - Applies knowledge across WBG to strengthen solutions for internal and/or external clients.
Make Smart Decisions - Interprets a wide range of information and pushes to move forward.